YES and NO.
Mr. Obama has used Facebook and other social media platforms to reach out to millions and advance his agenda. He is a social media magnet. At the time of writing this article, the Facebook group, Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack), had 1 063 122 members.
The group also links with the White House, giving Mr. Obama and his supporters tremendous opportunities to advance his agenda.
But the social media might also be one of Mr. Obama’s greatest threats. A poll posted to Facebook last Saturday asked users to vote:"should Obama be killed?"
Freedom of expression? The responses were crafted specifically to generate support for the diabolic wish to have the US President assassinated. The responses: "yes," "maybe," "if he cuts my health care," and "no."
Facebook has since removed the offensive poll, which was posted through a third-party application. And the US Secret Service is investigating.
But this Facebook poll clearly shows how the social media can be exploited to nourish diabolical wishes and plots against Mr. Obama. The creator of the poll and those who voted anything other than NO are not practicing freedom of expression. They are mobilizing for terror and aren’t any different from Osama bin Ladens of this world.
Facebook owes Barack and millions of it’s peace-loving users around the world. This time it’s not the usual violation where third-party applications manipulate Facebook policies or user photos and personal information. It’s about the heinous dream to have the President of the United States assassinated.
It’s terror wish.
Such wishes must be kept as far away as possible from popular public spaces such as Facebook. Facebook must clean its act and tighten it’s policies. Facebook users must stay vigilant and report polls like this before they spread like a virus.
Facebook is our playground. It’s no place for hate and terror plots.